Welcome to Lift Heavy Run Long®. My name is Wilson Horrell, and I am proud to be associated with this community of incredibly supportive people.

Almost fifteen years ago, I sat down at a quarter slot machine in Las Vegas, only to walk out $2.3 million dollars richer. Winning a couple of million bucks is awesome, right? For most people, it probably is. For a guy like me, it was a disaster. The fortune took my, already misguided, life and spiraled me headlong into a life of booze, drugs, cigarettes, food, depression, and eventual desire for suicide. For eight years of my life, if it did not come from a drug dealer, a liquor store, or a gas station, it did not go in my system. Every area of my life, from being a father, a husband, a son, a brother, and a businessman was an absolute disaster.

In June of 2011, I checked myself into a treatment center and decided, for the first time in my life, to ask for help, and actually accept the advice I received. As I sought the help of friends, family, doctors, and anyone else who was willing to listen, I was able to start moving in the right direction. I stuck my toe into the world of fitness, and found that it had a place for me. Albeit, I am not athletic, not particularly strong, a very poor runner, and overweight, there is still a community that is uplifting and positive. This community has welcomed me with open arms.

I feel that I owe my life to this community, and it is my life’s mission to grow and strengthen it. I would like to help others, who might be in a similar situation as I was, become a part of it. I don’t mean people that necessarily have a problem with drugs or alcohol, but people who are just generally unhappy, and would like to change their life. I was made aware of Lift Heavy Run Long® in the fall of 2013, and since that time it has helped push me into numerous CrossFit events, a couple of marathons, a handful of 50k’s, and a 50 miler last November.

Throughout my journey, I have made a multitude of changes in order to become a better person. Many of these changes have been painful, and plenty have ended in absolute failure. I have learned to accept failure as part of my life, and I have also learned to embrace difficult and uncomfortable situations. Through all of the work that I have put into leading a more fulfilled life, it has become more and more clear that I spent the first 35 years of my life doing all that I could to avoid growth, for fear of what came with it.

Fear of failure, ridicule, mockery, and laughter have kept me from attempting new things in both my personal and business life. Well, those days are over. God and the universe have graciously teamed up to give me another crack at life, as well as the friends and the energy to attack this world head-on.

In December of 2015, I approached Von Ralls, the founder of Lift Heavy Run Long® and told him that I wanted to become a partner in LHRL™, and see if we could build a community for people who enjoy lifting, running, and just being active participants in life. We have been BLOWN AWAY at the response. More importantly, we have been extremely humbled by the responses we have received from some of our members. To become a member of Lift Heavy Run Long®, one must simply consider themselves a member. There is no initiation, no handshake, no price to pay, and no level of fitness expected. We simply want to encourage people to encourage people.

Lift Heavy Run Long® is a community of athletes whose primary goal is to support one another at the gym, races, and events. Historically there has been a divide between people who lift and people who run, with most people choosing one camp or the other. As beliefs and training techniques have evolved, there has been an ideological shift in the way lifting and running is incorporated into fitness. At Lift Heavy Run Long® we simply want to embrace and encourage the movement, and the different approaches to overall health. We want to see as many people as possible enjoy the benefits of both running and lifting, as well as the difference it can make in their lives. There are so many healthy activities to be enjoyed, and no “one size fits all” approach as to how to approach them (regardless of what people might try to tell you). We want to encourage people to get out and live life. Whether it’s walking into the gym for the first time, or signing up for that race you have been wanting to run. We hope that maybe you can identify or be introduced to some of the supporters of Lift Heavy Run Long® or simply recognize some friendly faces. We know how miserable fitness can be when doing it alone, and how wonderfully exciting it can be with a community of friends who support you.

The mission of LHRL™ is simply this:

To Inspire. Be Inspired.

We created the LHRL™ Podcast with the intention of finding inspirational people who are leading lives of fulfillment. We are in constant search of those who are leading a life of “bliss”. We define bliss as “what you do with yourself if time and money were not factors in how you choose to live your life.” We want to learn about these people in hopes of inspiring ourselves as well as the people around us. Thank you for being a part of the Lift Heavy Run Long® community.

If I can ever be of any help in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
wilson@liftheavyrunlong.com